VANCOUVER, British Columbia – After surviving a takedown and getting back to his feet, Sam Stout unloaded a violent left hook that set up a knockout victory over fellow lightweight Yves Edwards.

The bout was the featured preliminary-card attraction of UFC 131, which took place at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

It was one of two bouts that aired on Spike TV following a five-fight prelims stream on Facebook and YouTube.

The prelims preceded the night’s pay-per-view main card.

The fighters traded punches early before Edwards corralled a leg and finally got a takedown. Although Edwards held top position for a few minutes, Stout largely kept him tied up and avoided any significant damage.

Then, once getting back to his feet, he created some distance and found an opening. Edwards clipped him with a punch, but Stout simultaneously countered with a left hook that caught his opponent flush on the chin.

Edwards was out cold on his feet, and as he hit the mat, his head snapped and hit the canvas with a fair amount of force. Stout initially rushed in but ultimately retreated and threw no additional punches once he realized Edwards was unconscious.

The end came at the 3:52 mark of the opening round.

“That overhand left will always be there for me against left handers,” he said. “Yves Edwards as a precision striker. I knew I was going to have to rely on my chin a little bit. … I’m trying not to get hit as much as I usually do. It worked out for me tonight.”

Stout (17-6-1 MMA, 6-5 UFC) has now won four of five, all in the UFC. Edwards (40-17-1 MMA, 8-5 UFC) snaps a three fight win streak and suffers just his second loss in eight fights.

Weidman taps Bongfeldt with standing-guillotine choke

As his striking and submission games continue to improve, Chris Weidman again used his stellar wrestling skills to set up a submission victory over Jesse Bongfeldt in the night’s first Spike TV bout.

Weidman, a two-time NCAA Division I All-American wrestler at Hofstra, absorbed an early head kick and then scored a takedown, where he dominated from top position. Weidman easily transitioned between positions and softened up Bongfeldt with a steady stream of ground and pound.

Bongfeldt ultimately got to his feet late in the round, but with just seconds remaining, Weidman locked in a standing guillotine choke that prompted a quick tap-out.

The victory came with just six seconds remaining in the opening round.

“I have a lot of dangerous moves from that position, so when I had his head, I knew I could pull off the choke,” Weidman said. “It felt good to have a full camp to prepare and work on all parts of my game. I’m ready to do whatever possible to keep improving, and I’m looking forward to getting back in there.”

Krzysztof Soszynski apologized for his inability to get the stoppage, but his performance over Mike Massenzio was dominant nonetheless.

Fighting for the first time since knee and nose surgeries that kept him out of action since November – and fighting a third opponent following the withdrawals of Anthony Perosh and Igor Pokrajac – Soszynski easily avoided takedowns, scored his own with ease, and unloaded three rounds of punishment from top position en route to a lopsided unanimous-decision victory.

Massenzio, who took the fight on a week’s notice and fought a weight class heavier, gave up considerable size in the bout. Soszynski easily controlled him from top position, and he did significant damage with knees to the body as he teased a kimura attempt that opened his opponent’s body.

The pace was often slow and lumbering, and few big shots landed. But Soszynski cruised to the decision victory via scores of 30-27, 30-26 and 30-27.

“I was getting prepared for one thing and got something else,” said Soszynski, referring to the change of his opponent and facing a wrestler. “I fought a wrestler for the first time in three years. Training with guys like Mark Munoz and the boys at Reign (Training Center) paid off. I hadn’t planned on fighting a wrestler, but the improvements I’ve made in my sprawl and getting back to my feet really paid off.”

Soszynski (26-11-1 MMA, 6-2 UFC) picks up his third win in four fights. Massenzio (12-5 MMA, 1-3 UFC), who went 1-2 in his first UFC stint before an August release, has lost three of four.

Ring taps Headin come-from-behind win

After getting dazed and dropped in the first round, Nick Ring immediately stormed back to score an impressive come-from-behind victory over UFC middleweight newcomer James Head.

Ring hit the mat midway through the first round, but he immediately was back to his feet and scoring takedowns. He dominated the action from the top position and badly bloodied Head with elbow strikes. A forearm to the bridge of the nose caused an especially deep gash and put the exclamation point on a lopsided second round.

The assault quickly continued when Ring scored an early third-round takedown. Head immediately went on the defensive while trying to block punches and forearm strikes. Ultimately, with the blows mounting and the blood gushing, Head rolled to his knees and covered up, and Ring locked in a rear-naked choke that brought about a quick tap-out.

The ending came at the 3:33 mark of the final round.

“It’s mixed martial arts for a reason, and I came prepared for a fight that could go a variety of ways,” Ring said. “I respect [Head] a lot. He is physically strong and has a lot of power. I’m happy with this win, but I really want to go back and watch the tape. Fortunately, I’m leaving here the winner tonight and was able to get the finish.”

Ring (12-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC), a “TUF 11″ cast member who scored a hugely controversial decision win over Riki Fukuda at UFC 127, remains undefeated with the victory. Young (7-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) snaps a two-fight win streak and suffers the first stoppage loss of his career.

Poirier edges newcomer Young

In a meeting between featherweight youngsters, WEC veteran Dustin Poirier scored a unanimous-decision victory over British UFC newcomer Jason Young.

Despite the eventual 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 scores, the bout proved a close one.

Poirier started strong with a wild and frantic barrage of punches, including many power shots from varying angles. Young ate some solid hooks – and countered with a few of his own – but then slowed the pace in the second with a series of solid low kicks.

In the final frame, Poirier scored an early takedown and spent much of the round in the top position. However, he did little with the dominant positioning. The pace slowed – and Poirier even apologized to his opponent after the fight for the stalling – but the once-energized Young was simply too sapped to mount a late rally.

“He was definitely one of the toughest opponents I’ve ever faced,” Poirier said. “His kicks were incredible. My legs have never been this busted up. He’s got a great chin. But I started out strong and landed some good shots. He was a lot quicker than I expected.”

Poirier (10-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC), who upset onetime-top prospect Josh Grispi in his UFC debut, now has won three straight since the lone defeat of his career: a decision loss to Danny Castillo at WEC 50. Young (8-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) snaps a two-fight win streak and suffers his second loss in six fights.

Beltran TKOs Rosa in heavyweight slugfest

It wasn’t the most technical bout, but it sure was entertaining.

In a rock’em, sock’em slugfest of heavyweights, Joey Beltran capitalized on a final-round flurry and ground-and-pound assault to earn a third-round TKO victory over former Strikeforce light heavyweight Aaron Rosa.

The fighters often sat in the pocket and traded heavy shots with little consideration to defenses. Beltran would set the pace and back Rosa into the cage, but the UFC newcomer held his own in the many frantic exchanges of head and body shots.

An ugly fight got even uglier in the second round when Beltran connected on an illegal knee to the groin and followed it with a knee to the head. Rosa took little time to recover and came out swinging before landing a low knee of his own, which brought about another timeout. Beltran than threw a punch after the round ended, which quickly changed the tone of the once-friendly fight.

Despite carrying significantly more weight then he did in Strikeforce, Rosa looked game for the final frame. But Beltran trapped him against the cage and unloaded heavy blows. He continued the assault even as Rosa took a knee and covered up, which prompted the referee to warn him to fight back. Rosa briefly got back up, but Beltran wrestled him back down to the mat and then unloaded a fight-ending ground-and-pound series to bring about the TKO stoppage at the 1:26 mark of the round.

“To be blunt, I knew he was going to be tough as hell,” Beltran said. “I was able to land some big shots, and I am really happy with this performance. Putting away a tough guy like him is just a testament to how hard of a camp I went through to get ready for tonight.”

Elkins, a former lightweight fighting at 145 pounds for the first time, went toe to toe with the Japanese fighter in a close first round. But Omigawa appeared to get the edge in the second and third rounds, when his striking battered and bloodied Elkins in a mostly standup affair.

Elkins never was dazed, but Omigawa continually proved quicker to the punch and landed more damaging shots. But in the end, the judges surprisingly awarded the victory to Elkins via scores of 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27.

“I feel like I won the first two rounds and truly beat him boxing,” Elkins said. “I think I landed the crisper strikes and controlled it on the feet. I was surprised to get a 30-27 score. That actually had me thinking that I lost. I gave him the third round, but I definitely felt that I won overall.”

MMAjunkie.com scored the bout 29-28 for Omigawa. Additionally, UFC president Dana White immediately took to Twitter to voice his disagreement.

“The judges rob another fighter!!!” he wrote. “Omigawa won that fight!!!”

With the dubious win, Elkins (12-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) picks up his fourth win in five fights. Omigawa (12-10-1 MMA, 0-4 UFC), meanwhile, fails to earn his first UFC victory for a fourth time.

As the UFC 189 tour made its last stop in Dublin, featherweight champ Jose Aldo was met with a torrent of abuse from the Irish fans. It might have been unpleasant, but it might also have been just what he needed.